Sunday, July 18, 2010

Small shady refuge: Gold Star Park

Equipment: One small playset, including one slide (metal), a hanging bar, some crow's nests, and some climbing bits (including a "barrel roll" ladder). No swings or other equipment.material: modern resin & metal; scale: small park with single playset area insideAges: 1-3Surface: rubbery composite around playsetShade(0-3): 3!Water: NOther: grassy areas, benches, blacktop, lots of shade, one large partly fenced blacktop that looks like a basketball court with no netsAccess: can't be closed, but posted 6am-10pm

Impressions: Feels like the old community parks of my youth -- mostly for shady picnics and "running around" -- except that about half of it is inexplicably paved. (It seems like a retired light pole could be repurposed for a basketball hoop, but perhaps that would make a peaceful space too noisy for the quiet townhouses on all sides.) Still, it was a real respite on a hot day, and our 29-month-old ran around with glee and rolled her ball in the grass.Extras: There are apparently concerts in this park on Thursday nights in the summer. Also, a man sitting on a bench was surfing wifi; I forgot to ask whether it was free or filched...Overall rating: 7 (for toddlers only)

2 comments:

i always wanted to make a blog/website of philadelphia playgrounds but never did. thanks for taking it on! I noticed that you don't have any parks in the northwest (germantown, mt. airy, east falls, chestnut hill, roxborough, manayunk)on your site. we've got some great playgrounds up here!

well, I think you can see that they're on our map. this heat wave has stymied us -- we can really only go to a playground very early in the day, so adding a car trip of any length is impractical. any time the weather wants to subside in ferocity, I'm happy to go farther afield! next up will be West Philly, I think...

Tips for playground designers

Always aim high. Manufacturer estimates of appropriate ages to use their equipment appear to be based more on liability concerns than on the reality of kids on the ground. My two-year-old laughs in the face of your "5-12 only" warning! Littler kids don't mind having to grow into a few features of a playset, but insufficient challenge will remove any interest in playing there.

Pay extra for the plastic slides. Count this one double if your site has minimal shade -- there will be seasons in which a metal slide is entirely unusable for anything other than popping popcorn. That can undermine the whole outing. While I'm here, don't forget tunnel slides, which seem to be disproportionately popular, especially with the younger set.

The value of shade can't be overstated, especially for the smallest kids and/or for equipment (like swings) where they're likely to stay for a while. Planting trees over by the benches might look nice, but the ones by the equipment will really bring families back.

Don't forget crawlers! It's the rare playground that has anything at all for kids who crawl or can stand supported, and parents really appreciate those that do. Cement sculptures have always served this population, as do crawl-through tunnels of various types and low "nursery school" slides.